Notes / Commercial Description:
A style of ale that was fashioned to survive the long voyage from England to India during the British colonization. Hop, hops, and more hops! This ale has an intense aroma and a long lingering finish. A beer for the connoisseur, this is the Brewmasters choice.

A solid IPA overall. Can given to me by dyan, thanks dude. Poured from a can into a goblet. Beer is amber with a slight haze, forms a white head. Has moderate carbonation and lacing is good. Looks fine.

Aroma is sweet and has a nice citrus hop character. Smells really good. Not very complex but overall nice.

Can from On the Fly. Pours out with nice fluffy head, orange golden body with tons of fine bubbles, very active carbonation. Head leaves clumpy lacing. Gentle aroma equal parts apple fruitiness and piney hops. Taste brings in more crisp happiness, some malt sweetness. Finishes kind of dry, a hint of metallic notes, but still excellent.

Picked up a single can from Abe's Cold Beer, but I clearly should have bought more. Now I enjoy Dale's Pale Ale. It's a great IPA, and a wonderful canned beer. However, I find it a little thick at times.

Red Racer IPA, however, packs all the tongue-biting, mouth-watering hop characters of a beer like Dale's, but lightens the mouthfeel just enough to let me enough a few more cans.

Fruity and floral upfront, I was expecting a juicier IPA, like what Avery serves up. But after a quick sip, the pineapple quickly turned to a harsh (but balanced) pine and grapefruit rind from the other end of the hops spectrum.

I'm not easily impressed by IPAs, but this is a damn good example of the style. Thank you Canada.

S - The nose if bursting with citrus and floral hops. There are hints of grapefruit, orange and tropical fruit. This is probably the most robust and fresh nose I have ever experienced in an IPA.

T - Bitter hops up front with floral and citrus notes. The hops are bursting with juicy grapefruit and orange flavours and taste so fresh. There is also a nice malt balance providing a sweetness that really rounds out this beer perfectly. Some bitterness lingers in the finish. A well balanced IPA.

M - Medium body. Lightly carbonated.

D - This ranks right up there with the best IPAs in the world.

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Previous review from 7-31-10 from a can had at Volo in Toronto. Bottled on date of Feb 23, 2010, so this was 5 months old at the time of the review.

A- One inch head on top of a clear, dark gold/light-ruby beer. Above average lacing and decent head retention.

S- Very tropical fruit smelling, can smell this 18 inches away from the pour.

T- More citrus than subdued but present pine...great hop bite.

M- Medium mouthfeel.

D/O- Slighty over-priced at $9 a four pack (12 ounce cans), a good beer none-the-less. The best IPA in a can that I CAN get on a semi-regular basis...would be good in the summer outdoors. Thanks CANada.

Red Racer IPA is slowly becoming noticed among beer geeks in both Canada and the US, and for good reason. I was lucky enough to try this growing giant at the source itself in Surrey, BC. On to the beer:

It's orange in color, and there are some strings of lacing sticking around in the glass. There's a healthy amount of fresh pine in the aroma which excites the beer drinker for what's next.

Red Racer IPA is filled with hops. clean, crisp hops! It's only a little bitter, which is nice. Floral notes exists too. The malt is crackery/biscuity. It's also a little sweet, which the best I can describe is like fruit infused hops with a sprinkle of sugar. It's very smooth in the mouth, and is a pleasure to drink.

Red Racer IPA lives up to the hype. A delicious beer that any any hophead would be a fool to turn down. The crazy thing is this wasn't the best IPA I tasted at Central City Brewing during my visit; you'll need to read my Double IPA review from that same brewery.

Can from IllNate, ages ago. Review from the notes I made waaay back then, close to 5-6 months ago, just found em. In a pint glass, thanks Nathan.

Poured an orange/amber with slightly offwhite head, fluffy and creamy. SLightly hazy and lots of webbed lace. Nose is sharp pineiness, citrus, orange zest, peach and some sweet malt. Sweet malt hits the palate first, with a powerful and full orange/citrus flavour to it. Bitter pine strikes around the mid-mouth and remains in the long finish. Medium carbonation. Finish isn't too dry, and neither is the mouthfeel. Drinkability is huge, and the ABV is not detectable at all. One of the best in Canada, always on my wants list!

The beer pours a clear orange color with a white head. The aroma is a mixture of catty hops and orange citrus. The flavor is a little bit different. I get some resiny hops as well as some orange citrus and pine notes. The bitterness level is about medium. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Pours a very nice clean/clear dark golden orange/copper color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice thick foamy off-white head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is hoppy, with a nice little malt note, citrus, and some pine notes. The taste is very nice, hoppy, with a good malt blend, nice dose of citrus, and a touch of pine. Medium body. Very Drinkable, a pretty awesome IPA from a can.

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a golden/brownish color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of citrus and hops, considerable bitterness. Taste is very flavorfull, citrus with lots of hops. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall this was a very enjoyable beer.

Red Racer IPA boasts a kinda bright orange with some shiny bronze shades within. A clean looking beer with no haze at all. Two fingaz worth of off white foam that is quite creamy looking and condensed. A bunch of lace on the glass.

The hops take up most of the nose with a big grapefruit bite and some pale malts to back it up with a sweet scent, slight caramel. Pretty bold and smells like the makings of a great IPA. Some small pine bitterness and hops on top of hops.

Tropical fruit on top of a nice malty layer. Grapefruit, pineapple, others, some bisquit giving malt. I'm really liking the balance on this, it's pretty much even. Some grassy earth towards the end going into a bitter pine like essense. This is a stand out IPA.

The feel is lighter than medium in build and a good amount of bitterness remains in the mouth for some time, I'm lovin it. Carb is just right not very high or overly crisp, I could drink this all day. I'm going on a camping trip soon and I think I just found out what Im bringing to drink.

If Canadians can brew a west coast style IPA that mimiks the quality over there, than why cant the east coast breweries do the same? I mean they all use the same equipment and ingredients right, maybe it's something in the air, I don't know.

Red Racer IPA looks good when held up to a bright summer afternoon sun; what appears gunky and smeared becomes a glowing, confident orange tone. The depth of its colour won't allow full fledged transparency but it becomes clear that its complexion is actually, well, clear. As for its head, even Michelangelo couldn't paint it any better.

The hoppiness in this bouquet is as big as an SUV. It is piercingly citric and has enough bitter resins to singe your nose hairs off. It has all the pungency of onions and reeks a little like them too. Fortunately, fruit factors in more heavily than vegetables and mango, orange and grapefruit would give this a most tropical air... if only they didn't smell so bitter!

If I could frame this taste and put it on my wall I would. It's like the most delicious creme brulee I can image - cream, sugar and vanilla custard - topped with candied grapefruit, orange zest and chunks of fresh mango. It is at once rich but light enough to be considered sessionable. And it has an almost spicy bite on the finish that is appreciably refreshing.

Red Racer IPA has the level of violent and gluttonous, tongue-splitting, palate wrenching bitterness that you'd expect someone like Quentin Tarantino would write for an IPA. Yet, curiously, it's irresistibly drinkable. On the aftertaste, the bitter, resiny, pithy flavours give way to more succulent, sweet tastes of caramel, cream and sugar. "Smooth" as they say.

This had a lot of hype precede it and often that means that it's bound to disappoint. With this one, however, I don't know that any expectations could exceed the quality and character of what is, for all intents and purposes, one of the finest, highly regarded IPAs I've tried. Don't try one - buy at least six. Trust me, you'll race through 'em fast enough.

You know.... you take a look at this goofy looking, unpretentious looking can, and you think... you've got to be kidding me. Then you crack it open and take that first sniff....

The beer pours a fairly light orange amber color with pretty good head retention and lacing. On the nose, this is a pretty yummy smelling IPA. There is a bit more noticeable sweet malt in the background then I'd like to see, but otherwise there is considerable white pepper, celery salt, citrus and a touch of pine, showing off the hoppy bitterness in this beer. The blend of sweet malt with the hoppy bitterness gives this beer some interesting tropical fruit flavors. On the palate, this is an impressively bitter IPA, but there's still some noticeable sweet malt and alcohol on the finish that I'm not in love with. Still, there's no denying that this beer displays a considerable amount of hoppy bitterness that really dominates the flavor profile. The beer is made very much in the West Coast style, and is on the dry side for IPA's. Very, very nice. Mouthfeel is fairly light, though there's no denyig the flavor packed flavor profile. Also, the beer finishes with a nice clean, refreshing, crispness that I quite like. Drinkability is good, but there's something of an alcoholic bite in the finish that I'm not totally in love with.

Hmmmm.... I can see the similarity between this and Blind Pig, as a friend (Dyan) suggested. However, I just can't say it's quite in the same class with the pig. While undeniably excellent, it just doesn't have quite the level of bitter intensity that I love so much in Blind Pig. That being said, there is no doubt that this is a very good beer... after Surly's furious, probably the best beer I can ever recall drinking out of a can . Impressive.

T: Tangerine, pine, nectarine and citrus rind, with some underlying malty goodness (not sweet, just some quality malt protein). Certainly balanced to the bitter side, but it's not at all harsh with their soft water. Plenty of hop flavour here!

M: Well attenuated, moderate body is smooth with a hint of hop acidity.

The beer comes in a dark rich amber, almost ruby color with a fluffy white head.

The aroma has grapefruit, a bit of caramel malt, and tons of pine, some spiciness. A very clean hoppiness. Very deep dank pine in there and a bit of alcohol in the end.

The flavor starts of some caramel malt. Then there is just lots of grapefruit, dank pine, huge flavor, lots of lasting bitterness. A hop juiciness that keeps the beer clean and not too cloying bitter. This beer is very in your face with the pine and long bitterness.

I had this next to Bell's Two Hearted and preferred this. This is just a fantastic IPA. It packs tons of flavor and also has a good balance of hops and malt. For pine bombs, like Green Flash West Coast, this is where I think it is at. Just a world class IPA.

I had this blind next to Meadowlark IPA and Ithaca Flower Power. This one out with Flower Power in second.

Pours a dark, slightly cloudy golden orange/tangerine color with golden yellowish orange hues when held to a light source and a two finger frothy yellowish beige head with very good retention, only slowly fading into a lasting ring. Soapy chunks of lacing left behind.

Sweet uber fresh citrus hop aroma with lots of luscious tropical fruit notes and subtle earthy pine. Hints of pineapple, mango, orange and lemon peel along with pine needle and a subtle toasty caramel and biscuit malt character in the nose.

Chewy medium body that is bursting with fresh sweet citrus and earthy bitter hops, along with a ton of tropical fruit flavor and a subtle malt backbone. The tropical fruit notes are really pronounced with hints of mango, pineapple, grapefruit and orange peel. There is also a bitter earthy dryness that keeps things in check with hints of earthy pine. Subtle toasty malt backbone with hints of graham cracker and biscuit provides decent balance without taking anything away from the delicious hoppy flavor. Although this beer is more complex than it seems, the hops are the star here and they linger throughout into a sweet yet dry finish. The ABV of this beer is very well hidden making it dangerously drinkable. I had to stop myself from chugging it down to fast. Highly recommended!

A: A clean and clear ambery orange. Not much in the way of head, a mere one finger or so. Retention and lacing are meager.

S: Fresh cut cedar. The heavy hop oil also strikes a bitter chord here too, but it's faint. Without question this is the highlight of the beer.

T: Red Racer initally comes off slightly citrusy and sweet. By the time the brew reaches the mid-palate, the hoppy bitterness catches up like a dog on a leash. As it goes down, the malt bites my tonsils. It's really quite unique how all of these different and equally enjoyable aspects come together.

M: Not what I was expecting. It's lighter then I would've liked, and had they left this one unfiltered and pulled back on the prickly forced carbonation, this could be (and I stress "could") an outstanding American IPA. As it stands, this is the beer's weakest link.

O: This is one I've been hunting for, and I'm glad to tick it off of my list. The nose on this one is simply marvelous, and if Central City ever gets into the air freshener business, I'll be first in line.

As I mentioned above, the mouthfeel really doesn't do this one any favors. If they would cut back on the intense level of carbonation, it would really allow the subtle nuances of the hops to shine through.

Regardless, this is a good beer. Here's to hoping that Central City's Red Racer find it's way to the DC market on a consistant basis.

(Served in a globe glass)
A- This beer pours a very murky deep copper orange body with a thin beige foam that is supported by strands of microbubbles that appear close to the glass.

S- The green hop hint finishes with a strong pecan nut aroma. There is some green woody aromas to the hops that turn into endive as it opens but they stay soft.

T- The full taste of butter pecans leads to a watery taste and a faint pungent woody bitterness lingers in the finish.

M- the medium mouthfeel has a gentle fizz and no astringency or alcohol heat noticed

O- This beer is very odd but not bad. I was hoping for and IPA but there was really no hops noted at all. The butter pecan flavor was one of the best nut flavors I have tasted in a beer. I which this was dated cause I have no idea if this was the intended flavor or the aged flavor?

Thanks to OKComputer for this one, it was my pay for helping him move his couch. Poured into straight pint glass. Poured a coppery amber color with about a half-inch of off-white head that had low retention, but good lacing.

The aroma was a bold blend of pine and citrus hops, with just enough malt in the background to provide a solid base. On the tongue those bright hops carried through nicely, certainly the focal point of the beer, but there was enough malt to separate it from the "hop water" pack.

The body was solid, sticky and just enough thicker than typical to be noticeable. Drinkability was very good, I don't generally have more than 1 IPA in a row, but I could easily have several of these nice brews.

A: The IPA has a gingantic head on first pour, exceeding 4 fingers in my tumbler glass. As it recedes, it settles on a steady two finger height that hangs around for a while. The remnants of the first pour are evident in lacing around the glass. The ale itself is an amber orange color, radiant at times and translucent.

S: Piney hops, albeit with a little age under their collective belts, jump out. Caramel malts are equally abundant. The intensity of the nose is average, nothing memorable on either end of the spectrum.

T: Piney flavors, a decent hop profile, lend a pleasing bitterness to the ale. That hoppiness sits atop ample caramel and pale malts. Aged is evident, the hops have lost a step or two. The malt body stands in, substituting its caramel bready sweetness for the hoppiness that has been lost. Too bad, this is the third Central City beer that I've had and I haven't been impressed.

M: The mouthfeel is, despite the huge head, still, allowing the hoppiness that remains to pool together. Those hops have, though, taken on a syrupy taste.

D: One and done. I was hoping this would break the Central City Curse but it didn't. In fact, I didn't finish the can - no need to choke down a beer I don't like. Hey BC, send us from fresh cans!